Marriage and financial stress, rather than child care-related struggles, may have a bigger influence on a Korean mother’s decision not to have more than one child, research by a state-run think tank suggested.　Contrary to the popular belief in Korea that child care stress can significantly reduce the mother’s desire to have a second child, the study, written and released by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, showed that wives with lower household income or who are unhappy with thei

Social Affairs Jan. 5, 2016

Problems and damages resulting from excessive drinking, smoking and obesity cost South Korea 23.3 trillion won ($19.7 billion) in 2013, which was equivalent to nearly half of the spending on medical costs covered by the national health insurance, a report showed Monday.　The report, written and released by the Health Insurance Policy Research Institute under Korea’s National Health Insurance Service, said problems resulting from drinking cost Korea 9.4 trillion won, smoking 7.1 trillion won and o

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2016

Uncertainties loom over whether the nation’s death with dignity bill will be passed before the current parliamentary term ends after the general elections in April.　South Korea’s parliamentary committee on Thursday delayed its approval of the so-called “well-dying” bill -- which allows patients with incurable diseases to end their own lives by rejecting any life-sustaining treatment. The biggest stumbling block is the ongoing debate among lawmakers on whether or not traditional Korean doctors sh

Social Affairs Jan. 3, 2016

More than 75 percent of South Koreans surveyed by a local pollster think “filial duty contracts” -- a legal document that makes it mandatory for all grown children to financially and emotionally care for their aged parents -- are necessary should they receive any gifts such as real estate or stocks from them.　The survey results were released two days after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an elderly father who filed a suit against his son, who, in spite of signing a filial duty contract, did

Social Affairs Dec. 30, 2015

　South Korea and Japan’s epochal agreement Monday to settle the comfort women issue drew angry reactions from surviving Korean victims, ethnic Koreans living overseas, activist groups and opposition politicians, who called for an unconstitutionality suit to invalidate the settlement and the resignation of South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.　The deal, which included Tokyo’s apology for Korean victims and a fund of 1 billion yen ($8.29 million) for Seoul to establish a foundation to suppor

Social Affairs Dec. 29, 2015

The South Korean government has been striving to curb violence in various corners of society, including at schools, homes, workplaces and online. The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles delving into the reality and the country’s efforts to restrain the violence. This is the second installment. --Ed.　　It wasn’t too hard for Yoon Eun-ji -- not her real name -- to find out that her senior colleague had been bullied by one of the executives of her company earlier this year. It wasn’t dif

Social Affairs Dec. 28, 2015

The Education Ministry on Thursday threatened to file a lawsuit against municipal education offices that have been refusing to allocate their budget on next year’s child care allowance for children aged 3-5 with the claim that the central government must fully finance the program.　Backing the ministry’s stance, Choo Kyung-ho, head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, also announced that the central government would take “every possible disciplinary measure” -- be it legal, administr

Social Affairs Dec. 24, 2015

Following a high profile child abuse case this week reported in Incheon, where a father confined his 11-year-old daughter at home and continually abused her for more than two years, the South Korean government is launching a special investigation nationwide next month on all schoolchildren absent from school for more than a week. 　“Normally, when a child is absent for no specific reason for more than a week, a teacher is required to call his or her parents,” said Kim Il-yeol from the Division of

Social Affairs Dec. 23, 2015

Almost 70 percent of Korean patients who were diagnosed with cancer from 2009-2013 have survived or are expected to survive at least five years after their initial diagnosis, a newly released government report showed Tuesday.　The survival rate, 69.4 percent, is an increase of 15.6 percentage points over the rate for patients who were diagnosed from 2001-2005, which was 53.8 percent. The increased number of Koreans engaged in regular health checkups and healthier lifestyles, as well as a decrease

Social Affairs Dec. 22, 2015

Choi Young-doo, a father of two children, received an abrupt phone call from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in August. He was told that his second child, born in June, may have been exposed to tuberculosis while staying at a Seoul-based postpartum center for the first two weeks of his life.　“It was just really absurd,” Choi told The Korea Herald. “I thought no one ever got TB in our country anymore.”　Choi is one of 150 parents whose newborns were exposed to the virus by a n

Social Affairs Dec. 21, 2015

　Students who attend public high schools in California in the U.S. will learn about Japan’s sex slavery during World War II starting 2017, according to Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun and the California Department of Education.　A public document released online by the CDE on Dec. 17 stipulated that “students can learn about the on-the-ground realities of fighting on the Pacific front by learning about ... the intense brutality of fighting due to racialized understandings that Japanese had toward A

Social Affairs Dec. 21, 2015

South Koreans on average outlive North Koreans by some 12 years, partly because North Korea’s high infant mortality rate is about seven times higher than the South’s, according to South Korean government data.　Data released by Statistics Korea placed this year’s life expectancy rate for South Koreans at 78.2 years for men and 85 years for women. In comparison, the rate for North Korean men was 66 years and 72.7 years for women. 　The infant mortality rate, one of the biggest reasons behind the li

Social Affairs Dec. 20, 2015

With risks and challenges faced by refugees across the world having become one of the greatest global issues today, the status and conditions of asylum seekers in South Korea have also been highlighted. The Korea Herald will publish a series of articles shedding light on refugees in Korea, their hardships, the systematic fallout, the country’s own history and ways to go forward. The following is the sixth installment. –Ed.　 　Three years ago, Lee Ye-da, then 23, arrived in Paris. He had only purc

Latest News Dec. 17, 2015